The 56th annual Academy of Country Music Awards will be held in Nashville, Tenn. for the second year in a row. The program will be broadcast live from three Music City locations: the Grand Ole Opry House, the Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe on Sunday, April 18 starting at 7 p.m. CT on CBS.
"We're thrilled to return to Music City's most iconic venues as we come together on April 18th to celebrate the best in Country Music, back in our normal awards cycle," Damon Whiteside, CEO of the Academy of Country Music, said. "A huge thank you to the city of Nashville, Grand Ole Opry House, Ryman Auditorium and Bluebird Cafe for welcoming us back to Nashville, where we can look out for the safety of our artists while shining a spotlight on this vibrant city after a tough 2020."
The Academy of Country music will follow safety guidelines set forth by national, state and local health officials.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the ACM Awards were held in Los Angeles, California and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Here's everything to know about this year's ceremony.
Who's Performing?
The Academy of Country Music announced a lineup of 29 artists on April 5. Miranda Lambert, Eric Church, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Little Big Town, Ashley McBryde, Maren Morris, Carly Pearce, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton, Chris Stapleton, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, CeCe Winans and Chris Young are among the artists set to perform.
Little Big Town will be down a member. News broke on April 15 that Phillip Sweet has tested positive for COVID-19.
"We might as well break the news: He's got the COVID," Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild said in an interview with Audacy (as quoted by Billboard).
Bryan will also sit out the broadcast after testing positive for the coronavirus.
Hosts Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton round out the list of performers.
See the full lineup here.
Who's Hosting?
Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton will co-host the 2021 Academy of Country Music awards on Sunday, April 18 starting at 7 p.m. CT on CBS.
Guyton, who's nominated for an ACM award for New Female Artist of the Year, will make history as the first Black woman to host the awards show.
"Over the years, the Academy of Country Music has always been a home for me through opportunities both onstage and throughout their work on diversity and inclusion," Guyton said in a statement. "This is a moment of great significance for me and I am so thrilled to share it with all the fans."
Urban, who hosted the ACM Awards last year, also shared his excitement to share the stage with Guyton.
"I'm beyond thrilled to be co-hosting with my friend Mickey," Urban said in a statement. "I love that finally everyone will get to see her infectious energy and uber creative spirit in full light."
2021 ACM Awards
Chris Stapleton and Maren Morris have earned the most nominations for the 2021 Academy of Country Music Awards with six nods each.
Stapleton is nominated for Entertainer of the Year, along with Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Eric Church and Thomas Rhett. The "Starting Over" singer is also nominated for Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Male Artist of the Year.
Morris earns nominations for Female Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Single of the Year and Video of the Year. Morris' fellow Female Artist of the Year nominees are Kelsea Ballerini, Carly Pearce, Ashley McBryde and Miranda Lambert, who is the winningest ACM Artist in history. For the first time since 2005, Carrie Underwood was not nominated for Female Artist of the Year.
The nominees for the 2021 ACM Awards were announced Feb. 26 on CBS This Morning.
As of April 8, two awards have been handed out: New Male Artist of the Year to Jimmie Allen and New Female Artist of the Year to Gabby Barrett.
Congratulations to @JimmieAllen on being named ACM New Male Artist of the Year! ?
Watch to see how Jimmie reacted when he got the news from #ACMawards host @KeithUrban!
? Jimmie will be performing at the #ACMawards on Sunday, April 18th on @CBS?don't miss it! pic.twitter.com/8Zb9gK4436
— ACM Awards (@ACMawards) April 8, 2021
Congratulations to @GabbyBarrett_ on being named ACM New Female Artist of the Year!?#ACMawards host @KeithUrban surprised her with the news?watch to see her adorable reaction!
? Don't miss Gabby's performance at the #ACMawards on Sunday, April 18th on @CBS! pic.twitter.com/Jk49priFD1
— ACM Awards (@ACMawards) April 8, 2021
See the full list of nominees below.
2021 ACM Award Nominees
Group of the Year
Lady A
Little Big Town
Old Dominion
The Cadillac 3
The Highwomen
Duo of the Year
Brooks and Dunn
Brothers Osborne
Dan and Shay
Florida Georgia Line
Maddie and Tae
Female Artist of the Year
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Ashley McBryde
Maren Morris
Carly Pearce
Male Artist of the Year
Dierks Bentley
Eric Church
Luke Combs
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton
Entertainer of the Year
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
Luke Combs
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton
Single of the Year
"Bluebird," Miranda Lambert
"I Hope," Gabby Barrett
"I Hope You're Happy Now," Carly Pearce and Lee Brice
"More Hearts Than Mine," Ingrid Andress
"The Bones," Maren Morris
New Male Artist of the Year
Jimmie Allen: WINNER
Travis Denning
Hardy Music
Cody Johnson
Parker McCollum
New Female Artist of the Year
Ingrid Andress
Tenille Arts
Gabby Barrett: WINNER
Mickey Guyton
Caylee Hammack
Album of the Year
Born Here Live Here Die Here, Luke Bryan
Mixtape Vol. 1, Kane Brown
Never Will, Ashley McBryde
Skeletons, Brothers Osborne
Starting Over, Chris Stapleton
Song of the Year
"Bluebird," Miranda Lambert
"One Night Standards," Ashley McBryde
"Some People Do," Old Dominion
"Starting Over," Chris Stapleton
"The Bones," Maren Morris
Video of the Year
"Better Than We Found It," Maren Morris
"Bluebird," Miranda Lambert
"Gone," Dierks Bentley
"Hallelujah," Carrie Underwood and John Legend
"Worldwide Beautiful," Kane Brown: WINNER
Music Event of the Year
"Be a Light," Thomas Rhett feat. Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott, Chris Tomlin and Keith Urban
"Does to Me," Luke Combs and Eric Church
"I Hope You're Happy Now," Carly Pearce and Lee Brice
"Nobody But You," Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani
"One Beer," Hardy feat. Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson
"One Too Many," Keith Urban and Pink
Songwriter of the Year
Ashley Gorley
Hardy
Hillary Lindsey
Shane McAnally
Josh Osborne
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